Sanjay Dutt has returned to jail to serve his sentence for firearms offences linked to 1993 blasts which killed 257 people in Mumbai.

The Bollywood star gave himself up at a court in the western Indian city.

Sanjay Dutt has already served 18 months of a five-year term for illegally possessing a rifle and pistol which he bought from the bombers after the attacks.

The actor had sought to delay his return to prison to finish a number of films, but the court rejected his appeal.

Sanjay Dutt, 53, was convicted in 2006 of buying arms from the bombers but cleared of conspiracy. The attacks left 713 others injured.

There was tight security outside the star’s house from early on Thursday morning as scores of reporters and television cameramen gathered.

Accompanied by his family and friends, Sanjay Dutt travelled in a convoy of cars to the court.

Sanjay Dutt has returned to jail to serve his sentence for firearms offences linked to 1993 blasts which killed 257 people in Mumbai

For 20 minutes, he was unable to leave the car because of the media mob which police struggled to keep in check.

Accompanied by his sister and wife, Sanjay Dutt went inside the court from where he will be transferred to jail.

Several Bollywood personalities visited Sanjay Dutt’s home in the posh Bandra suburb of Mumbai before he went back into custody.

The son of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Sanjay Dutt said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the Hindu-Muslim rioting of 1993 which followed the destruction by Hindu zealots of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.

Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, is hugely popular for his role as a loveable gangster in the Munnabhai movies. He has also dabbled in politics.

In 2006, a special anti-terror court convicted 100 people for the blasts. Twelve were given the death penalty and 20 others sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sanjay Dutt, the most high-profile among the convicts, was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.

In March 2013, India’s Supreme Court upheld Sanjay Dutt’s conviction, but reduced his sentence from the earlier six years to five years.

Sanjay Dutt has asked more time from India’s Supreme Court before he returns to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

Last month the judges ordered the Bollywood star to surrender by April 18 after reducing his sentence to five years from six.

Sanjay Dutt has asked the court for a month’s extension to hand himself in, citing work commitments.

The actor was convicted in 2006 of buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai.

Sanjay Dutt spent 20 months in jail.

Sanjay Dutt has asked more time from India’s Supreme Court before he returns to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts

The serial bombings killed 257 people and wounded 713 others.

Reports say the actor is trying to finish work on a number of films before returning to prison.

Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, is hugely popular for his role of a loveable gangster in the Munnabhai movies. He has also dabbled in politics.

In 2006, a special anti-terror court convicted 100 people for the blasts. Twelve were given the death penalty and 20 others sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sanjay Dutt, the most high-profile among the convicts, was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.

The trial court found the star guilty of illegally possessing a rifle and a pistol but cleared him of conspiracy.

The son of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Sanjay Dutt said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the Hindu-Muslim rioting of 1993 which followed the destruction by Hindu zealots of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has announced he will return to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

Sanjay Dutt has been on bail since 2007 when he appealed against his original sentence of six years. Last week, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to five years.

Sanjay Dutt told reporters that he would “abide by the court’s decision” and not seek a pardon.

The actor was convicted in 2006 of buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai. He spent 20 months in jail.

Sanjay Dutt has said he will return to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts

The serial bombings killed 257 people and wounded 713 others.

Sanjay Dutt broke down during an interaction with journalists on Thursday and hugged his sister Priya Dutt, who was sitting next to him.

“I am a shattered man. This is a very tough time in my and my family’s life. I have a few days left [before returning to prison],” Sanjay Dutt said.

“I have a lot of work [left to finish] and I want to finish it. I want to [also] stay all this time with my family. Please let me be in peace. I love my country.”

The judges have ordered Sanjay Dutt to surrender in four weeks.

Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, is hugely popular for his role of a loveable gangster in Munnabhai movies. He has also dabbled in politics.

In 2006, a special anti-terror court had convicted 100 people for the blasts. Twelve of the convicts were given the death penalty and 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sanjay Dutt, the most high-profile among the convicts, was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.

The trial court had found the Bollywood star guilty of illegally possessing a rifle and a pistol but cleared him of conspiracy.

The son of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Sanjay Dutt said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the Hindu-Muslim rioting of 1993 which had followed the destruction by Hindu zealots of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a former Miss World, a successful Bollywood star and married to the son of one of India’s best-loved stars.

She found international fame in the Hollywood film Bride and Prejudice, and Julia Roberts billed her as the world’s most beautiful woman.

Thanks to the notoriety such fame and fortune has brought her, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has become one of the most admired and revered women in India, and indeed the world. But such fame has come at a cost for the 38-year-old star.

Since the birth of her daughter in November last year, Aishwarya Rai has been open about the fact that she is in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy.

The model and actress, who won the Miss World title in 1994, defended her choice, saying she wanted simply to “enjoy motherhood”.

But with the star, who married Abhishek Bachchan, the son of India’s most loved film star Amitabh Bachnan in 2007, tipped for her 10th appearance at Cannes next week, furious speculation is mounting as to how she will look.

Since the birth of her daughter in November last year, Aishwarya Rai has been open about the fact that she is in no hurry to lose the few extra pounds she gained during her pregnancy

Commentators have been unkind, lambasting the star for letting her fans down.

Many have gone a step further, suggesting the star has a “duty” to her fans to regain her pre-pregnancy figure.

One website posted a video of the star looking less than her usual svelte self, flicking between photographs of her pre-birth, and photos now.

Called “Aishwarya Rai’s shocking weight gain”, the clip, which came accompanied by elephant sound effects, has been seen more than 500,000 times.

Dozens more videos in a similar vein have been posted, each with viewing figures in the tens or hundreds of thousands.

Comments left after the video prove that many of those watching have little sympathy for Aishwarya Rai.

“She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit,” one said.

Another added: “She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery.”

It has opened up a debate in the country, and beyond, about the attitudes held towards women in the public eye.

“Aishwarya is like a goddess,” said showbusiness columnist Shobhaa Dé in the New York Daily News by way of explanation.

“She is held up as the ideal of beauty and so there is an expectation on her to look perfect at all times.”

“The role models being held up are Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham, but our body frames are different – we have wider hips and curves – so this whole business of looking desperately skinny two weeks after giving birth is a western import.”

Cinema professor Shohini Ghosh added that women in India were up against an almost impossible task.

“There is a glorification of motherhood in India and Indian cinema,” he told the paper.

“But people are confused because they don’t know whether to glorify Aishwarya in her new motherhood or lament that she is not looking like a runway model.”

It’s safe to say that far too many fall into the latter category, judging by the cruel comments flooding internet sites.

Some, however, have come out in defense of the star, saying that she, like any new mother, should be focusing on her infant, not her diet.

“She is a real women looking after a baby. We should be concern for her health and happiness especially if she is nursing the baby. Not the Western belief of expecting people in the spot light to lose all weight in month. If she dieted what will happen to the baby’s diet,”one said.

“That’s because Aish is not one of those selfish ones who puts the focus on their bodies instead of their babies, which makes them moody and ineffective as parents,” another said.

“Kudos to you Aish for keeping it real and letting your baby have all the bonding and attention she needs with you. Enjoy your life.”

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s detention by US authorities for 90 minutes at White Plains airport near New York has sparked outrage in India.

This “policy of detention and apology by the US cannot continue”, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said.

Shah Rukh Khan arrived on a private plane and was on the way to Yale University for a function when he was stopped.

US customs and border protection authorities later expressed “profound” apologies for the incident.

The spokesman for the US embassy in Delhi, Peter Vrooman, also apologized “if Mr. Shah Rukh Khan experienced an inconvenience or delay”.

It is not clear why Shah Rukh Khan was detained at the airport, which serves New York City.

Shah Rukh Khan’s detention by US authorities for 90 minutes at White Plains airport near New York has sparked outrage in India

In 2009 the actor was detained for two hours at Newark airport and was released after India’s embassy in the US intervened.

Shah Rukh Khan said then that he was stopped because he had a Muslim name. US customs officials denied that the actor had been detained, saying he was questioned.

“Apologies from America have become mechanical,” SM Krishna said on Friday.

He also asked India’s ambassador in the US, Nirupama Rao, to lodge a protest with Washington.

Member of Parliament Rajeev Shukla said the detention was “totally uncalled for”.

The Bollywood film industry has also come out in support of the actor.

“All that the US immigration authorities need to know about Shah Rukh Khan, they can find it at the touch of a button,” musician Javed Akhtar said.

Earlier, the Press Trust of India news agency reported that Shah Rukh Khan was stopped and questioned for more than two hours before being cleared by immigration officials on Thursday.

He was freed after Yale University officials contacted homeland security and customs officials.

“Khan was very, very upset over the episode,” the CNN-IBN channel said, quoting unnamed sources.

Later, Shah Rukh Khan told the students of Yale University that he had been stopped and questioned at the airport.

But, he made light of the incident and joked about it.

“Whenever I start feeling arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to America. The immigration guys kick the star out of stardom,” Shah Rukh Khan said to laughter from the audience.

“They [immigration officials] always ask me how tall I am and I always lie and say 5ft 10 inches. Next time I am going to get more adventurous. [If they ask me] what colour are you, I am going to say white,” he said.

Shah Rukh Khan has appeared in more than 70 films and is considered one of India’s most recognizable and popular celebrities.

There have been several incidents in the past of prominent Indian officials being stopped or frisked at US airports.

In December 2010, the US expressed regret after India’s then-ambassador Meera Shankar was pulled out of an airport security line and frisked by a security agent.

Some reports said she was singled out as she was wearing a sari.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was concerned about the incident and vowed to prevent a recurrence.

And in 2009, America’s Continental Airlines apologized to former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam for frisking him before he boarded a flight to the US.

Members of India’s parliament were outraged after it emerged that APJ Abdul Kalam had been frisked and made to remove his shoes at Delhi airport in April.

Protocol exempts former presidents and other dignitaries from such searches.

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